


Gentle Folks walk with Gentle Beasts

by TheShallowGamer



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Alternate Universe-Zoo, BAMF John Watson, Bisexual John Watson, Developing Sherlock Holmes/John Watson, First Kiss, First Time, Friends to Lovers, Happy Ending, M/M, Pre-Season/Series 03, Slow Burn, Younger John, Younger Sherlock, Zookeeper John
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-27
Updated: 2016-02-18
Packaged: 2018-04-17 02:34:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4648953
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheShallowGamer/pseuds/TheShallowGamer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em>Watching Sherlock fawn over her makes John’s skin feel hot.  Sherlock looks very much like a younger version of John the first time he fell in love with the gentle beasts. </em>
</p>
<p>John has been working as a zookeeper at ZRP (Zoological Rescue Park) for three years. In those three years the most exciting thing that's happened to John is getting bit by a python. But when Sherlock comes onto the scene with his deductions and vast knowledge about John's favourite animal, the elephant, John can't help but be swept away in an adventure he's been craving for, for years.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lizcantspell](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lizcantspell/gifts).



> This is gifted to Liz @lizcantspell as the idea for this fic came from the conversations we’ve been having on tumblr. So you should send her loads of love for helping me turn this into an actual fic. 
> 
> The zoo where John works is located and based around ZSL (London Zoo)  
> Rating is subject to change.  
> Not beta read so any mistakes are my own. 
> 
> My tumblr: @johnlock-pervert

John exhales a breath, slapping the broom down on the ground. It hits the floor with an audible thud and the sound echoes in the large space.

Looking around he can see that he is nearly finished mucking out the elephant house, having come in an hour earlier to do it and wipes the sheen of sweat that’s formed across his brow with the back of his hand.

Nine AM. The zoo doesn’t open till ten and already the air feels hot and sticky and that’s only going to continue throughout the rest of the day.

John dreads the hotter days of the year and not just because he has to work in them. The animals don’t respond well in such conditions and so mostly spend their time in the much cooler houses. This of course means that tourists complain about not seeing anything.

Not that John gets to spend much time interacting with the visitors. He’s mostly working behind the scenes with feeding, bathing or cleaning out the houses. But the few times he is free to walk around he often hears children whining and others pushing to get to the front.

 He breathes out slowly, already feeling the heat taking its toll on him. He props one arm on the top of the broom to steady himself and takes off his gloves, tracing along the lines patterning his palm. There’s specks of dirt underneath his nails that he knows no amount of scrubbing can fully clean. His hands are young and strong, much like the rest of his body. But his face has a few more lines than someone else of his age and dark circles hang heavy below his eyes.

He’s  young but feels old rather than being old and feeling young. He doesn’t know what’s worse.

He hasn’t always felt like this. When he was offered to work for ZRP (Zoological Rescue Park) as a zookeeper at twenty three he was eager to please. Everything was new and exciting and now three years later life is beginning to drag. He gets up at six in the morning, barely managing to hold down a cup of tea and a piece of toast, get dressed and travel the half hour to work. Repeat for the rest of the week. The only difference now is that he gets paid for it.

The truth is that John just isn’t as excited about his life as he once was.  He loves the zoo, loves the animals he works with and the people are friendly enough.  But his personal life is less than enjoyable.

It isn’t like he can pack up and move away. He has little savings; having spent all the inheritance money he received from a great aunt he had never met, on nights out at the pub and a month away abroad, a sister who he hadn’t spoken to for a year and a flat that feels more like a prison than a home. With no money, no family or partner to rely on and stuck living in a flat that he hates, it isn’t a surprise John’s starting to feel closed in.

Still, the zoo keeps him going. It’s the only place that feels like an actual home to him and he wants it to stay like that. The zoo and all its inhabitants have become his getaway and he’s going to keep it that way for as long as possible.

‘’John!’’

He turns around just as Mike walks through the door. He’s out breath and his glasses have slid down to the tip of his nose.

‘’I was just coming in to clean up but I see you’ve beat me to it.’’ He grins and stops in front of John to catch his breath.

‘’Yeah, I thought I’d better, seeing how no one else wants to do it.’’

‘’You’d think they just became a zoo keeper to pet all the animals.’’ Mike says, his cheeks dimpling when he smiles.

 ‘’Anyway, Sarah told me you came in here early. Everything alright?’’

‘’Everything’s fine. Just wanted to get this done.’’ John gestures around him.

Mike nods and starts walking towards the door, wagging his finger at John. ‘’Well it’s nice to see you hard at work. Keep doing that and you could have my job one day.’’

‘’But no one could do the job as well as you.’’ John says sarcastically, smirking.

‘’Just for that you can stay behind tonight and clean out the snake houses!’’

‘’Don’t I always?’’ John calls but Mike isn’t listening and the door slams shut once again.

John shakes his head, the last of his laughter dying out as he looks around. ‘’Oh well then,’’ He says to himself, ‘’back to work.’’

He picks up the broom handle and begins sweeping.

* * *

It doesn’t take him long to finish up with the elephant house. His hands are red and marked from where he was holding the broom and there’s a dull ache in his lower back but at least it’s clean.

He’s called to help Sarah and the others make the final preparations for a new tiger that’s come in for the breeding program. John doesn’t mind, it’s a lot less work for his hands and back.

After, Sarah asks him if he’s free tomorrow night (he is) and if he wants to meet up for drinks (he does) and smiles at him, looking at him from beneath her eyelashes and walks off with a worker John can’t remember the name of.

He likes Sarah. She had been the one who offered him a job at ZRP and he’s incredibly grateful for that. She’s easy going and he hasn’t been out in awhile. It’ll be nice to drink with company again.

By this time the zoo has been open for over three hours and just after twelve, he takes his lunch break.

He goes to the cafe, ordering his usual: a ham sandwich, a packet of salted crisps and a tea. The man behind the till smiles at John like he always does and John does the same, not sure whether it means anything.

The sun blares down on him as he takes his lunch out of the cafe and goes to sit on the bench he always sits at. 

It’s tucked away from the rest of the zoo. Behind the cafe and placed on top of a sloping hill, sitting underneath a willow tree that adds more coverage, its branches snaking down like outstretched arms. He walks up the rest of the way and the grass tickles at his legs.

The shade from the tree is welcome as he sits down, grunting as his back hits the hard wood.From up here he can see the whole zoo and tiny dots meant to be people walking around. It’s peaceful and he needs a little peace sometimes.

He takes a bite of his sandwich and lets the cool breeze wash over him. There used to be small stream of water here, hence the willow tree but they decided to remove it just after John got the job here.

He can remember the first day they came to have a picnic on this hill.

John has been obsessed with elephants since he watched the film _Dumbo_. It’s an odd way to get introduced to your favourite animal and his father and Harry often made fun of him for it but his mum knew what they meant to him. So saving as much money as she could, she took them to ZRP.

It was during the summer holidays, just after his twelfth birthday, when the drought was at its worse and freezing ice cream couldn’t alleviate the heat.

It was after his dad had left for work. His mum packed a picnic with a rolled up blanket underneath her arm and told John and Harry to get ready and the three of them would jump on the tube to London. It was better that way. Just the three of them.

John would gaze outside the window as they moved away from their home town, watching as it disappeared with the small vibration of the train window making his head feel funny.

He counted the number of towns they arrived at, playing eye spy with Harry until his eyes ached and waited for their stop.

When finally they arrived at Camden Town station, Mrs Watson took Harry and John’s hand and walked the rest of the way there, darting in and out of the crowds of people on London streets.

They arrived to the sound of howler monkeys screeching and a queue of people waiting to get inside. To the right, a [green hedge carved into the shape of an elephant](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dmVRmNacmSc/Uamm8fkmhzI/AAAAAAAAEn4/OhhhveH7nS4/s1600/Topiary+elephant+san+Diego+Zoo-qpr.jpg%20%20) stood before them and a sign painted with elephants, monkeys and tigers hanged above them as they made their way into the main entrance.

They paid for their tickets, Mrs Watson’s eyebrows rising at the prices and entered.

To say John was overwhelmed with it all would be an understatement. All the sounds and smells were so much different to what he was used to back home.  

Harry looked at the map they were given on entrance and pulled at her mums arm, insisting they go visit the monkeys first. John had wanted to see the elephants first, wondering if they were bigger than the elephant hedge outside but Harry was older and had obviously appointed herself the leader of the day. So with his feet dragging, John followed behind.

 ‘’Mum, look at their tails!’’ Harry bellowed, ignoring the _no climbing the barrier_ sign as she lifted herself up on the wooden fencing and leaned forwards.

‘’Harriet, get down!’’ Mrs Watson shouted just as loudly. John noticed she did that a lot as Harry grew older.

She didn’t listen and Mrs Watson didn’t have the strength to pull her off. At fourteen Harry was already over the average height for her age and used it to her advantage.

Mrs Watson turned towards John, taking his hand in hers.

 ‘’Do you like the monkeys, Johnny?’’

‘’I want to see the elephants.’’ He said and he was so determined to see them that he’d forgotten to tell her that he’s twelve; he doesn’t need her to hold his hand.

She gave him a soft smile, her lips painted in pink. ‘’I know.’’

She looked back at Harry who was swinging back and forth on the barrier.

‘’Harriet, get down from there right now!’’

The other visitors gave disapproving glances at the pair of them but she didn’t pay them any mind as she marched towards Harry, pulling John in tow.

Harry pouted and jumped down. ‘’ I only wanted to get a closer look. Let’s go see the tigers now yeah?’’

‘’We’ll look at the tigers later on. John wants to see the elephants.’’

‘’But I want to see the tigers now!’’ Harry wailed her face turning into a sour scowl.

‘’Later.’’

Before Harry could protest further, Mrs Watson took the map that Harry pushed into her pocket, smoothing out the wrinkles with her hand and gave it to John.

‘’Lead the way, Johnny.’’

His nose wrinkled at the nickname but he took the map and dragged his index finger down the page.

‘’There!’’ He exclaimed in excitement when he found them. ‘’Next to the giraffes.’’

He started to move before he realised it. He wasn’t even sure it was the right way.  But he carried on walking and his mother and a rather displeased Harry followed suit.

After a half hour of searching Harry had, had enough.

‘’We’ve already passed that! Face it mum we’re lost.’’ Harry had fallen behind, her feet dragging and she kicked at the ground causing stones to fly up in the air.

‘’We’re not lost,’’ Her mum had replied back, her cheeks flushed from all the walking and her pin curls started to loosen.

‘’Lost. Lost. Lost. Lost. Lost,’’ Harry repeated mimicking the parrot they had seen awhile ago. She kicked at the ground again and a not so small pebble hit the back of Mrs Watson’s shoe.

She rolled her eyes. Harry’s behaviour only got worse when she was outside. She was what her teachers called a ‘troubled child.’

‘’We’re not lost. It’s just a little tricky to find them.’’ She bit at her bottom lip. She didn’t sound as convincing as before.

‘’Why are we going to see them anyway? They’re boring,’’ Harry piped up again, arms crossed.

‘’They’re not boring,’’ John said, talking for the first since they started looking.

Harry hummed. ‘’Of course you like them. A boring animal for a boring boy.’’

‘’Shut up!’’ He spat and his jaw clenched in a way that hurt his teeth.

Being the youngest, John was always the target for Harry’s pranks and cruel jokes, made even worse on the revelation that he liked elephants. His father hadn’t approved. He was a real man’s man, with car grease rubbed into his knuckles and huge arm muscles that could lift both Harry and John in the air. Harry being a daddy’s girl took her father’s side and John’s love for the animals became a running joke.

 ‘’Stop the both of you. This was meant to be a nice day out for the family for John’s birthday. Let’s not ruin it, eh?’’ Mrs. Watson said and turned around to Harry, bringing her forward so she wasn’t trailing behind.

‘’If it was for the family then why is dad not here?’’ Harry asked.

 ‘’Leave it, Harriet.’’ Mrs Watson’s voice gave no room for argument but it was shaky, like she wasn’t sure she should be speaking about it.

Harry huffed and snapped the hair tie on her arm against her skin, pulling it off and scooping her hair into a messy ponytail. She had her father’s hair, dark and unruly while John’s was light and thin, taking after his mother.

‘’I’m hungry,’’ Harry announced and John wished that it was just him and his mum. 

‘’We’ll have something to eat when we see the elephants,’’ John said. He wasn’t sure they’ll be eating any time soon.

They passed the plant house and John tried to pinpoint on the map if they were any closer to the elephant house.

‘’Why don’t we just ask someone?’’ Mrs. Watson asked.

‘’We won’t have to.’’ John smiled. He pointed towards a signpost with two arrows on it.

_Giraffes_ on the top one, pointing right.

_Elephants_ on the bottom one, pointing left.

John scrunched up the map in his hand and darted forward. He heard Harry and his mum call after him but he didn’t take any notice as he made a sharp turn left.

He moved through the line of people walking and halted to a stop in front of a crowd of people looking at something. An elephant.

John sucked in a breath, puffed out his chest and marched forwards. He couldn’t see them clearly enough because of the crowd so waited until a couple stepped aside for him and squeezed through the gap.

They were certainly taller than the elephant hedge at the entrance. There were two in the enclosure, one drinking at the pool of water and the other sauntering in circles, stopping a few times to stamp at the ground.

John watched in awe as he leaned against the fence with his head in his arms. He wondered what the texture of their skin would feel like against his fingertips.

‘’John?’’ Mrs Watson called.

If John had heard his mum’s voice he didn’t take any notice of it.

‘’John?’’ She raised her voice, becoming more panicked.

‘’He’s over there mum,’’ Harry said, pointing towards him.

Mrs Watson breathed in a sigh, her shoulders relaxing and Harry and her made their way over to John, Harry pushing past a three year old as she scooted beside John.

‘’John! Don’t ever run off like that again.’’ Mrs Watson scowled. ‘’John? Are you listening to me?’’

He nodded his head dumbly, not really paying attention.

‘’I didn’t know they were that big,’’ Harry said. Her hair was already falling out of her ponytail.

‘’They are quite lovely aren’t they?’’ Mrs Watson smiled, wrapping an arm around John’s shoulder. ‘’Oh! That one’s coming over.’’

John’s head whipped to the side as the elephant that was drinking out of the water started making its way towards the three of them.

John’s breath hitched and he swallowed thickly as the elephant stopped in front of them. The fence as well as the hill was too high for John to reach down and touch it but the elephants trunk curved upwards as if it was waiting to be touched. 

John went up on his tip toes and leaned forwards trying to see if that would make a difference but he was still too far away to reach. He tried again but it didn’t make any difference.

Before he could place himself back on the ground again, he felt his mum’s hands at his sides as she pulled him up and stood in the spot he was before, thrusting him towards the elephant. He reached out his hand and although he was still too far away to properly pet the elephant, his fingers managed to squeeze into the hole in the fence and briefly stroke over the skin of its trunk. It was a fleeting moment but he felt so charged in those few seconds of contact. The elephant pulled away from John and turned around to go back to the water.

‘’Wow! I can’t believe you touched him,’’ Harry said.

‘’Her. It says her name is Safi,’’ Mrs Watson said as she placed John back on the ground and read from the sign pinned to the fence. ‘’The other elephant is Khari, her older brother.’’

John didn’t say anything. He looked down at his hand, stroking his thumb over the fingers that touched the Safis trunk.

‘’Can we have the picnic now?’’ Harry asked, elbowing past John and taking the picnic basket from her mum.

‘’Alright. Let’s go find somewhere to sit, eh?’’ Mrs Watson moved away from the fence and followed Harry who was swinging the basket back and forth.

John didn’t follow.

‘’OK, Johnny?’’ Mrs Watson called, turning around to look at him.

He nodded.

‘’Alright. Let’s go get something to eat then, yeah? We can come back to look at them again afterwards.’’

John let himself be dragged away from the elephant enclosure, waving goodbye to Safi and Khari.

There were no benches or seats available when they went to have lunch.

‘’Why don’t we just go up there?’’ Harry pointed towards a hill that was behind the cafe.

‘’Uhm I don’t think we’re allowed, pet. There might be seats over by the-- ‘’

She was cut off as Harry charged up the hill with the picnic basket slamming into her legs as she ran.

Mrs Watson sighed deeply and went after her, the heels of her shoes sinking into the ground.

So they climbed the slope of the hill and sat on the bench underneath the tree.

John ate his lunch in silence; nibbling at his cheese sandwich and licking the jam off the jam tarts. Harry more than made up for John’s lack of talking as he rambled on about the monkeys.

After lunch they strolled around the zoo looking at all the fish, reptiles, plants, tigers and lions. John was hoping he’d be able to see Safi but by the time they trekked all the way to the enclosure, Safi and Khari had gone inside their house.

 ‘’Chin up eh, Johnny. We’ll come back another day,’’ his mother said.

He didn’t think they’d get another chance like this. John was already worried about what his dad would say about them all going out without him. Especially to a zoo.

But they walked around again and by five o’clock Harry demanded they went to the gift shop. Harry chose a tiger mask, Mrs Watson chose a parrot pen that would talk if you pressed the button and John chose a small stuffed elephant toy.

‘’Whatcha going to call it, sweetie?’’ The woman asked John as Mrs Watson paid for their items.

‘’Safi!’’ John smiled up at her and the woman smiled back.

‘’Like our Safi!’’ She handed over the bag and the receipt.

‘’Thank you,’’ His mother said and handed John his elephant and Harry her mask.

Trying to catch their train back home at rush hour turned out to be a lot more effort than it was worth. There were hundreds of people catching trains to go back home after a long day at work but it might as well have been millions to John. Everywhere he turned he was bumping into someone and they lost Harry twice when she was looking at the posters decorating the station walls.

They finally found the right station and bordered the train, just entering as the door was closing. They collapsed onto the hard seats, Harry propping her feet up on the chair while John leant his head on his mums arm. He sinked into her, smelling the perfume his father had bought her for their anniversary. He would always buy her expensive presents.

Mrs Watson nudged John with her elbow and tilted her head towards Harry whose mouth was open as her head lolled to the side. ‘’Would you look at that. Not been on the train for five minutes and she’s already fast asleep.’’

John sniggered and looked up at his mum. ‘’Thanks mum.’’

‘’What for, sweetheart.’’

‘’For today. For this. For helping me pet Safi.’’

Her face softened, the dimples in her cheeks appearing when she smiled. ‘’You’re welcome, sweetheart.’’

His voice dropped. ‘’I wished I could have pet her again.’’

‘’I know. But now you got your own Safi that you can pet.’’ She lifted up the toy’s trunk making it stroke over John’s cheek.

‘’Mum?’’

She hummed in response.

‘’What will dad say about today?’’

She sucked in a breath. ‘’He doesn’t need to know, sweetie. It can be our little secret yeah?’’ She nudged him again, trying to act as if it was all one big game.

John nodded and clutched Safi tighter to his chest. He hadn’t kept a secret before. Let alone to his dad. It just wasn’t something they did.

They spent the rest of the train ride home in silence, the magic of the zoo slowly fading away.

John sighs and sips at his tea. It burns his throat on the way down and makes tongue curl in his mouth. He’s kept a lot of secrets from his dad from that point on. He laughs but it’s bitter and makes the remnants of tea left in his mouth taste sour.

His father had taken everything John loved and made it hateful. The only place he had never touched was here. The bench and the great willow tree is the only place his father has yet to ruin.

 ‘’Excuse me?’’

John coughs around the chunk of sandwich and swallows it thickly. He whips his head around to check behind him but it’s only more tree branches and overgrown greenery. For a moment he could have sworn he heard someone’s voice.

He turns back around, perplexed because the voice was so clear that he’s unsure if his mind would be able to conjure up something like it.

He goes to take another bite of the sandwich but a man is staring at him with such intensity that it turns his stomach off his food.

‘’Erm...Hello.’’ John speaks first, clearing his throat and the stranger tilts his head to the side. He looks at John like he’s invaded his property.

John is having none of that.

‘’Visitors aren’t allowed up here,’’ He says, placing the sandwich back in the packet.

The man raises an eyebrow and John takes in a breath.

‘’Neither are staff,’’ The man says and the breeze carries the words to John making his hairs stand on end.

He isn’t sure what he was expecting when he saw the man. His voice certainly matches his appearance. By the looks of him, he is no older than John with a nose a tad too big for face, pale skin that only makes his eyes seem more invasive and even without standing up John can tell he is over six ft tall. His lean frame is added to by the belstaff that sits comfortably on his shoulders though the temperature only continues to rise. He’s handsome, John admits to himself, if unconventional beauty is his thing.

His body decides for him as his fingers grip around the styrofoam cup of his tea and his tongue comes out to glide across his bottom lip.

‘’Yes, very good. Now if you don’t mind.’’ He points towards his lunch sitting in his lap and hopes that the stranger will get the hint.

But he continues to stare at John and frankly, he doesn’t need this right now.

‘’Listen, I’ve been up since six this morning, I’ve worked a four hour shift so far and my half hour lunch break is the only break I get and I’d rather spend it alone. So again, not to be rude but I’d like to be left alone right now. ’’ John says but it comes out like a tired plea and he’s almost ready to beg the man to go away.

‘’You studied medicine and yet you work at a zoo. Why?’’ The stranger says, looking John up and down.

John’s mouth turns downward and he licks at his lips again. ‘’Pardon?’’

‘’Why bother studying something that you never intended to pursue a career in?’’ The man’s hands clasp together and he holds them up to his face.  ‘’Oh of course! Pressure from your family. I’m guessing from your father.’’ The man carries on talking, ignoring John’s question.

‘’How the hell--who are you?’’ John rises from the bench, his lunch spilling over the floor but his grip on his tea still firm.

‘’You’ve been working here for two--three years.  You’ve only recently been given the opportunity to work with some of the smaller animals so your timetable has changed for your shifts. You’ve had to get up early than usual and you did so today. ‘’ His eyes dart back to John’s as if looking for some spew of approval.

‘’Have you been following me? Who _are_ you?’’ John persists with the questions, stepping forward.

He doesn’t say anything for a moment as he continues to look at John.

‘’Sherlock Holmes,’’ He finally says and steps back; a pretty smirk on his lips. ‘’Your tea is going cold. Afternoon.’’

With one last flash of a smile, Sherlock turns around and walks down the sloping hill leaving John standing alone. _How strange._

He doesn’t bother to call out but waits until he can no longer see Sherlock before picking up the crisp packet and his half eaten sandwich and goes to find a bin.

* * *

At five o’clock the heat settles and the clouds roll in. The last entry of visitors have been let in and John finds himself back in the elephant house.

One of the perks of the job is that he gets to work with Safi. He was worried she wouldn’t be at the zoo by the time he got a job but she was and now he gets to work with her every day.

‘’Everything look good?’’ Mike says, taking the hoof rasp from John.

‘’Yeah. She’s good.’’ John smiles and lightly taps Safi’s leg. As always she obeys and lifts her leg from the footstool and back on the ground.

‘’So I see you met Sherlock Holmes.’’

John frowns at him and Mike chuckles, his shoulders shaking from the force of it. ‘’He kept asking me who you were and when you worked. I assume you spoke to him?’’

‘’Yeah. Did you tell him about me?’’  

‘’Oh yeah told him your name and everything.’’

‘’Why did you do that?! He could be some stalker for all you know,’’ John says sharply. The last thing he needs is someone asking after him.

‘’Don’t worry, he’s not a stalker.’’ Mike laughs again.

 ‘’So you know him then?’’

‘’Jealous?’’ Mike smirks, one eyebrow arching up at John.

John rolls his eyes. ‘’Of course not. He visits often then? Sherlock?’’

‘’Oh yeah. Comes every week or so when he’s not busy protecting London streets. Mostly goes to see Safi and Khari. I’m sure he’ll be back tomorrow.’’

John hums, questions racking in his head but none are spoken. ‘’It doesn’t matter anyway. He seems like an arrogant arse anyway.’’ 

‘’Oh he is. But I think he’s keen on you.’’

John clicks his tongue against his teeth.  He doubts that very much.

Well, even if this Sherlock bloke is keen, it’s not like John recuperates the feeling.

* * *

Sherlock hasn’t come back. John’s been checking. He’s meant to be doing his husbandry duties for the giraffes but instead he keeps checking to see if Sherlock is at the elephant enclosure. He went home last night and all his thoughts had one thing in common. Sherlock. He even came in today an extra half hour because he thought he could distract himself. He doesn’t dare ask Mike if he’s seen him. He can only imagine the endless questions he would be swamped with.

‘’Do you like him then?’’ ‘’Why don’t you talk to him?’’ ‘’I can ask him out for you if you like.’’

The man is attractive yes but he hardly knows him. He doesn’t even know if the man is single for christ’s sake. He doesn’t like him.

 ‘’Watson!’’ Ian, the man who manages the zoo comes up behind John when he’s just about to slip out again to have another look for Sherlock.

‘’Yes?’’ John hisses.

He can’t stand Ian. He doesn’t do any work just takes pleasure in humiliating the workers, chatting up the females who come to visit the zoo and sit in his office all day waiting for the hefty  sum of cash from the government for funding, which instantly goes into his pocket.

‘’Aren’t you meant to be working?’’ He sneers. There’s white dust sprinkled down his shirt where he’s been binging on cakes.

‘’ _I_  am, yes.’’

‘’You listen here, Watson.’’ He comes up close to John’s face and when he’s speaking specks of spit land on John’s cheek. ‘’we both know that neither one of us likes each other. That’s fair enough ‘ight? But I get a lot of money from this zoo, more than ten years worth of your salary. So if you cause any trouble for me, you’re fired. Alright?’’

John’s nostrils flare. Not it _isn’t_ alright. He steps forward and his fists tighten so much it hurts his fingers. He doesn’t say anything just stares up at him.

Ian presses his lips together in a satisfied smirk and walks off.

John shakes his head and turns around to go to the giraffe enclosure. He looks around at the lines of people walking around the zoo and his eyes catch someone standing underneath the signpost pointing to the giraffes and elephants.  

Standing in front of him talking to Mike is Sherlock.

He’s wearing the belstaff again even though the heat is just as hot as it was yesterday.  He has a different suit on though. This one’s black with a white shirt, the two top buttons undone. John licks his lips and looks up, meeting Sherlock’s gaze. He’s smirking at John like he’s caught him doing something he shouldn’t have been doing.

John takes two steps forwards, about ready to go over there and introduce himself properly but Mike turns back and sees him, giving him a wave before turning back to give Sherlock something and walks in John’s direction.

‘’So he’s back then.’’ John says when Mike finally reaches him. Sherlock is tapping frantically at his phone as he walks off.

‘’I told you he would be.’’ Mike grins and pats John on the shoulder.

John nods. He’ll go find him at lunch.

* * *

Sherlock didn’t make an appearance at lunch. John had been sitting at the bench for nearly half of his break and Sherlock didn’t show up. He skipped buying any food so he wouldn’t miss the man and now as he sits on the bench again after finishing his shift for the day he’s regretting that decision. He’s parched and his stomach is demanding something to eat.

He takes his phone out of his shirt pocket and looks at the time. 5:30PM. The zoo closes at six.

He’s about ready to call it a day on hoping Sherlock will come and puts his phone back in his pocket.

‘’John?’’

John looks up at the call of his name and Sherlock is standing in front of him. ‘’Oh. Hello.’’

‘’Hello.’’ Sherlock says.

John shifts on the bench, moving to the side to give Sherlock the space to sit down. He nods towards it. ‘’Sit.’’

‘’Do you want me to?’’

John smiles despite himself and Sherlock ducks his head under a branch and sits.

‘’So you’re back.’’  It’s not a question but John makes it sound like one.

‘’Yep.’’ Sherlock’s mouth pops together at the ‘p’. ‘’Problem?’’

‘’No! _’’_ John hurries to say and realises he sounds quite mad. ‘’What I mean is that I didn’t think you would. Come back that is.’’

‘’You’ve been thinking of me then?’’ Sherlock’s lip quips up and John finds he likes this Sherlock a lot better than the one he met before.

John rolls his eyes but he smiles.  ‘’Don’t flatter yourself.’’

Sherlock shrugs and the smile is gone.

‘’You know it’s not every day a strange man tells you your whole life story,’’ John says.

Sherlock doesn’t reply just folds his hands together in his lap.

‘’It was good.’’

Sherlock astounded, turns his head towards John.

‘’Excellent even. ‘’

‘’Really?’’ Sherlock’s eyes narrow slightly.

‘’Truly. It was quite brilliant.’’ John sniffs and turns to Sherlock who nods, shifting on the bench and straightens his back. His eyes don’t look so cold anymore.

‘’A hello would have been a good idea though,’’ John teases and Sherlock frowns causing John to bellow into laughter.  

After the laughter comes a beat of silence and John taps his fingers on the bench’s armrest. ‘’ How did you know all of that though? Did Mike tell you all that.’’

‘’Mike told me nothing. I read it.’’

‘’You read it?’’

‘’In your body language, your clothes and your face.’’

‘’OK but how?’’

Sherlock just smiles. ‘’It’s fairly easy if you know what you’re looking for.’’

‘’Yeah. Right.’’ John shakes his head. ‘’Mike told you everything didn’t he?’’ John repeats.

Sherlock glares at John and his words come out like bullets out of a gun, ''I know you trained at St Bartholomew's Hospital but when you were meant to ship out to Afghanistan you decided against it and followed a different career, this career in fact, You went to the RVC where you took a course on wild animal biology much to the disproval of your parents. They were always pushing you to be your best and getting a good job, settling down with marriage and children.  But you’re bored aren’t you? Of your job? No, you love it. Of the people you work with? Somewhat. Of your life? Or maybe you’re afraid that your parents might of been right.’’

He stops and John feels like he's been hit by a bus. He should punch him or at least be afraid that he knows quite a chunk of his life. 

''That. Was. Incredible.''

''You know you say that out loud?'' Sherlock says and John purses his lips together. 

''Right. Sorry.'' 

''No it's fine.'' It's  _all_ fine.

''How do you know I'm bored then? Do I really look it?'' 

''You have a job that you love and yet when a strange man comes asking after you instead of hitting or swearing at him you engage in conversation with him.'' 

They share a look with each other and they burst into laughter again. John doesn't think he's laughed so much in his life. 

He clears his throat, trying to force the laughter down before he talks again. ''So why come back?'' 

''I happen to come here very often.'' 

John scoffs but Sherlock remains straight faced.

‘’Really? _You_ visit zoos?’’

‘’Not zoos but zoo. Specifically this one.’’

‘’What’s so special about this one?’’

Sherlock smirks .‘’Wouldn’t you like to know. The elephant in the room. ’’ He looks like he wants to say more but leaves it at that as he stands up getting ready to leave John alone on the bench again.

He’s not going to let it happen a second time.

‘’Wait, Sherlock!’’ It comes out more loudly than he had intended. ‘’Do you want to see them, the elephants? Mike told me you often come here to see them and if you want I can give you a tour of their house and maybe I can show you how we feed them.’’ He’s aware he sounds desperate but he doesn’t care. 

Sherlock doesn’t say anything. He’s not sure there are words for what he’s feeling. He should say no but it’s swallowed to the back of his throat and he nods slowly.

The smile John gives him makes him feel like bronze in the presence of gold.  He waits for John to get up from the bench and they go down together to see the elephants.

* * *

‘’She’s gorgeous,’’ Sherlock says softly, fingers stroking over the elephants ear.

John and him sit on the ground with the baby elephant standing in front of them. She’s the smallest thing that Sherlock has ever seen with the biggest ears and a trunk that could count for a tail.  

‘’Isn’t she just? She’s only a young thing, about ten so we’re told. Poachers killed her mother, the bastards. She was too young to look out for herself so she was taken to the closet zoo possible but the conditions were horrible so she was placed here,’’ John explains.

‘’Do you others? Whenever I’ve come here before there’s been other elephants.’’

‘’We have two elephant houses. One is for the older elephants, we have two in there at the moment, Safi and Khari. Then this one is for the younger elephants. We’ll introduce her to the other two when she’s older.’’

‘’Does she have a name?’’ Sherlock asks, gesturing to the elephant in front of him.

‘’No. She only came here a little over three weeks ago and no one’s had the time to give her a name.’’

Watching Sherlock fawn over her makes John’s skin feel hot.  Sherlock looks very much like a younger version of John the first time he fell in love with the gentle beasts.

 An idea comes to his head.

 ‘’Name her,’’ He says and the idea is so wonderfully fantastic that John can’t help but let a broad smile stretch over  his face.

Sherlock’s fingers stops stroking over the elephants ear. ‘’What?’’ He stares at John, his eyes wide.

‘’Name her,’’ John insists, leaning forward towards Sherlock. ‘’She’s hopelessly doted on you already and everyone else will just choose something boring.’’

Sherlock thinks for a moment. ‘’Myah. Her name’s Myah. It means ’’

‘’Myah.’’ John tests out the name and she lifts up her trunk as if approving. They both laugh and John scratches her behind the ear. ‘’Myah it is then.’’

They both stare at each other and it’s getting harder for John not to look at the way Sherlock’s eyes soften in the light or the crinkles that form at the edge of his eyes when he smiles. He looks young and utterly gorgeous in this light,  it’s damn near electrifying for John.

They sit for another few minutes, just staring at Myah as she happily lets both of them stroke her. Neither one of them speaks but the companionable silence is more than enough for the both of them.

‘’Dinner?’’ Sherlock asks, standing up and extending out his hand for John.

‘’I’m sorry?’’

‘’Dinner. I know a nice little Chinese place not far from here. Hungry?’’

‘’Starving.’’ John admits and takes Sherlock’s hand. They smile at one another and John can feel _something_ , a connection, bound between the two of them.  

It’s broken by the remembrance that he’s meant to meet Sarah tonight.  He promised they would go out for drinks. He doesn’t want to turn Sherlock down but he can’t stand Sarah up.

‘’Sherlock.’’ John says but he really doesn’t want to. ‘’The zoo’s going to close soon and I-‘’

‘’You have a date.’’ Sherlock interrupts. He doesn’t say the words in a nasty way but John feels chided nevertheless.

 ‘’It’s just drinks.’’

Sherlock’s jaw tightens and within a fleeting moment he’s gone back to being the cold, calculated Sherlock, John had seen before. ‘’You don’t have to explain, John.’’  He realises it’s the first time Sherlock’s used his name.

 ‘’You could come if you like.’’ John offers and Sherlock scoffs at it.

‘’No.’’ He pauses and his eyes become soft again. ‘’But thank you for this.’’

‘’No need to thank me,’’ John mumbles.

Sherlock looks down and smirks, one brow shooting up as he slips his hand away from John’s. John  coughs, clearing his throat in embarrassment. He didn’t realised they were still holding holds.

They stand together for a moment and the whole situation is exceedingly silly. He feels like he’s saying goodbye for the last time.

‘’So,’’ John says, stretching the word out as he shoves his hands in his pockets.

‘’Goodbye, John.’’ Sherlock makes it easier for them both and gives one final nod before turning around and walking away.

This time John doesn’t stop him but he does stare a whole lot. At the way Sherlock’s curls bounce as he walks off and the tiny wisps of curls  falling around his neck. That neck. So long, pale and unmarked by anyone. John wonders what sort of sounds Sherlock would make if his tongue were to glide along collar bone and up to the knot of his adam’s apple. It doesn’t bare thinking about. He shouldn’t even be thinking about things like that. He doesn’t even know what Sherlock’s sexuality is for god’s sake.

He imagines Sherlock gets a lot of female attention. Who wouldn’t look at a man like Sherlock?

He ponders this just as his phone vibrates in his shirt pocket. He undoes the button and reaches inside to take it out, tapping at the screen.

 

 

> You should consider changing your clothes for your date.  
>  **Sherlock? How did you get my number?**  
>  Mike.  
>  **I should have known. Is that what you two were talking about earlier?**  
>  Perhaps.  
>  **Any particular reason you wanted my number?**  
>  Thought I might need it.  
>  **Hmm.**  
>  I might want to see Myah again.  
>  **Just Myah?**  
>  I suppose you can come along as well.  
>  **Oh well thank you very much.**  
>  **Sherlock?**  
>  Yes.  
>  **Are you coming back tomorrow?**  
>  Do you want me to?  
>  **Yes.**  
>  Then I will.  
>  **Good.**  
>  **You still owe me lunch because you interrupted my break yesterday.**  
>  Consider it a date.

John chuckles, looking up to find Sherlock but he is already gone. John puts his phone back, gives Myah one last stroke behind her ear and locks up the house, signing out for the day as he goes to find Sarah.

He will just have to wait for Sherlock to come back tomorrow.  

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Endless apologies for the late update and a thousand thank yous to Liz who was so patient with me. 
> 
> Not beta read so any mistakes are my own.

John finds Sarah outside the entrance gates. She’s still wearing her work boots but has on jeans and a cardigan instead of her work uniform.

She turns towards John, her ponytail flipping to other side of her neck and arches her eyebrow.    

'’You’re late,’’ She says but gives him a warm smile.

'’I know, I’m sorry I got caught up in work and--‘’

Sarah shakes her head, ‘’Don’t worry about it. Mike told me you were working late today. The elephants again?’’

John gives a small smile and nods. "Do you want to get going then? I’ll just go and get my spare clothes and then we can go," He says.

"Sure," She says and follows John to his locker.

He has never needed his spare clothes before and as he opens it up he pulls out some scuffed up jeans and a green plaid shirt, which he had forgotten about and has been looking for, for about two weeks.

He quickly changes, replacing the spare clothes with his uniform and walks out to find Sarah again.

Sarah’s eyes glance John up and down and John offers his arm.

"Any particular place you had in mind?’’ He asks as they walk off.

‘’I know a little place. It’s quiet and the drinks aren’t a sky rocket price either,’’ Sarah says as she takes his arm and they walk off.

* * *

 

The low hum of music plays out of the stereos hanging on the walls as John and Sarah enter. The pub is small, the kind of place only locals go. John sits in a booth in the corner.

The cover of the seats are a dark red and the yellow sponge underneath pops up from the many holes punctured in the material.

Sarah orders the drinks and John drums his fingers on the table. It’s only him, Sarah and a few worse for wear men sitting at the bar. It smells like cigarette smoke and salted peanuts. He’s not sure why Sarah brought him to a place like this, he’s been to better places but he’s also been to worse and frankly and it’s just nice to get outside of his flat.

'’Here,’’ Sarah says, placing the drinks down and taking the seat opposite John.

‘’Thanks.’’ John curls his fingers round the glass and takes a sip of the amber liquid. It’s lukewarm and more water than beer, definitely not something a person could get drunk on. Not that he wanted to get drunk.

Perhaps he could settle for that warm feeling in the pit of your stomach when you’ve drunk just enough alcohol to make you giddy and (stupidly) brave.

They sit in silence for some time, Sarah twiddling her hair and John continuing to drum his fingers on the table.

Until Sarah looks up and smiles.

'’So I hear that you’ve been staying behind working. Everything alright?’’

John hums. He didn’t exactly want to talk about work, wanted to try and get away from it for one evening.

‘’Everything’s fine.’’ He keeps it short but it sounds rude to just leave it there. ‘’What about you? You must be excited about your promotion."

‘’I am! Well If I get it. There's still other candidates."

"You'll get it. Who knows the zoo better than you?"

"Well...'' She pauses and then tilts her head slightly, giving John a strange look. ''You do.''

"I'm not applying for that job,'' He says, confused as to where Sarah  has got that idea from.

"You'd be good,'' She insists, leaning forward.

"Don't go getting any ideas'' John says firmly, ''I'm happy with my job and this is _your_ promotion."

"If I-"

"You'll get it. Anyway, let's not talk about work."

Sarah takes her glass in her hand, the rim of the glass hiding her smile and drinks.

They spend the rest of the evening talking and playing old pub games.

* * *

 

Just after ten, they decide to finish the third round of drinks and leave. They walk arm in arm down the stretch of the path to the station. Even though it's only them and a few other travellers they decide to stand and when Sarah falls back into John when the train starts, John just smiles and holds onto her.

When it's his stop, Sarah gives John a hug and a chaste kiss on the cheek and waves goodbye as he steps off the train. John waves back and turns up his coat collar, ready for the harsh blow of wind and makes a slow return home.

It’s a quarter to twelve by the time he gets back. He turns on the light and is welcomed back to the plain beige walls of his living room. He hangs his coat up and tosses his keys into the ceramic bowl next to the door. He toes his shoes off and pads over to the window. It’s still open and the harsh breeze of London night bundles through.

He stays like that for a while, just watching the streetlights flicker and the taxis and cars pass by.

He breathes in and the cold air fills his lungs and travels up his back.

Another car flys by outside and goose pimples start to appear on his arms.

He shuts the window and draws the curtains. In ten minutes, it would Friday, one last day of work before the weekend. He has no plans as usual. Perhaps he would ask Sarah out again or, failing that, stay behind later at work to try to make the week last a little longer.

He wonders if he should sit down for a bit and watch some TV. After all, he rarely gets the time these days, but after a short moment, he reconsiders. There’s nothing good on at this time anyway.

Time to get ready for bed then.

After brushing his teeth and putting on an old t-shirt he slips into bed and nestles down for the night.

The walls are thin and he can hear the people in the flat next to his arguing about visiting relatives for the weekend. John doesn't mind. Their domestics have become something akin to white noise now and usually within two to three minutes he would be asleep.

There is no point setting an alarm as his body has become so used to getting up at five AM that it did it automatically, whether John wanted it to or not, but just in case he taps a few buttons on his phone to set the alarm. The clock on his phone reads 12:04.

He puts his head back onto his pillow and shuts his eyes.

He thinks about the zoo and the elephants. He thinks about him and Sarah and their date.

Then he remembers Sherlock, the way he held his hand and his smile when he looked at Myah and falls asleep.

* * *

 

The alarm rings out and John hurries to shut it off. Once done, he flops back onto the bed and turns over, wrapping the duvet closer to him.

He flutters his eyes open and stretches his legs. The bottom of the bed is cold and he quickly pulls his legs up again.

He had woken up once during the night, as he usually did and laid awake for a while listening to the wind rattle against his bedroom window. He shifts and turns, swinging his legs out of the bed and slumps towards the kitchen.

It’s still dark out and the kitchen light causes him to shut his eyes quickly and blink back the pain of the bright light.

He switches the kettle on and goes to the bathroom. By the time he is done, the kettle has boiled and he makes himself a coffee.

It’s a cheap brand and tastes too bitter without milk and too sweet with it but it will give him enough energy until lunch.

Any attempt at making breakfast is stopped as he has finished the cereal and the bread is two days old. He grimaces and throws it out; making a mental note that he needs to go shopping tonight.

It’s freezing in the flat and the heating doesn’t come on till six.

He takes his horrible coffee and curls up on the couch, switching the TV on.

He spends the next half hour flicking through shows until eventually deciding on an old show he used to watch as a child.

* * *

 

It’s ten to eleven and John’s itching for a break. He’s been working on paperwork for Myah since he clocked in. So far he’s recorded her weight, height and health issues.

He hasn’t seen Sarah, Mike or Sherlock. He had been tempted earlier to text Sherlock but he stopped himself, but now he can feel the weight of his phone in his pocket and it’s harder to resist checking his phone for any messages.

He sits on the floor with Myah by his side. She flops her trunk up and it slaps onto John’s knee. He absent-mindedly strokes it. Myah lifts her trunk up again and slaps it back on John’s knee, hitting the paper resting on his lap. John puts the papers down, letting the pen roll onto the floor and looks at her.

‘’I know you want attention, girl, but I really need to finish this paperwork for you, before Ian starts making a fuss.’’

‘’I’m sure you have a little time to spare.’’

John turns and Sherlock is walking towards him. He’s wearing a different shirt today; it’s dark purple and his hair looks fresh and more curly than the previous day.

'’Sherlock.’’ John is about ready to get up but Sherlock joins him on the floor. 

'’John.’’ Sherlock stretches his arm out and pats Myah.

You're back, John thinks, how are you he wants to say but decides for ‘’How did you manage to get in here? There’s a key code on the door.’’

Sherlock scoffs, ‘’A simple four-digit number key code, not exactly Bank of England level of security.’’

John decides to ignore the irritation he feels and asks, ‘’How did you know I would be in here?’’

Sherlock pauses, twisting his body to face John and says, ‘’Are you anywhere else?’’

First Sarah now Sherlock. Perhaps he does spend too much time with them.

Sherlock glances at John, his eyes surveying over him. "Your date went well then.’’

John nods.‘’You could say that.’’

Sherlock sniffs loudly then says, ''What time is your lunch?''

John looks at his watch. ''In about ten minutes...why?'' 

‘’Well, since you declined my offer of dinner yesterday I thought perhaps lunch would be better.’’ Sherlock pulls out two packets of crisps from his coat pocket.

John laughs and shakes his head. ‘’You really are mad.’’ He breathes out, trying to compose himself.

'’Alright, let me just finish this then we can go.'' Sherlock nods and John begins writing again.

* * *

 

The next ten minutes are spent in companionable silence. They sit together, John scribbling down notes while Sherlock watches and makes the occasional comment on John’s handwriting, which John would roll his eyes at and make it even more messy so Sherlock couldn’t read it.

Finally, John puts his pen down. ‘’Finished. You ready to go?’’ He lifts himself off from the floor and Sherlock doing the same.

They make a quick stop to the office to put the paperwork away and make their way to the bench on top of the hill.

They sit down and John plucks the packet of crisps from Sherlock’s pocket. He takes a handful of the crisps, suddenly finding himself starving and holds the packet out to Sherlock, who shakes his head.

‘’Not much of a lunch date if you’re not going to eat.’’ John pulls the crisps away and takes another handful.

‘’Lunch date?’’ Sherlock asks.

'’That’s not what I meant,’’ John says, his speech mumbled from the mouthful of food.

There’s silence apart from the rustling sound of the crisp packet and they both stare ahead, watching the people down below.

John is the first one to speak, ‘’So how did you guess the date went well?"

'’You’re wearing yesterday's socks."

John laughs and he can’t figure out why that sentence is so funny to him.

‘’You didn’t have sex though.’’

John’s laugh catches in his throat, coughing loudly he says, ‘’That’s a bit too far now, Sherlock.’’

‘’Not good?’’

‘’Bit not good, yeah.’’

Sherlock nods but looks neither concerned nor apologetic.

‘’And how the hell do you know that- - on second thought don’t answer that.’’

Through the branches on the trees the sun shines out and rests on their faces. They haven’t had a summer as hot as this in a while.

‘’So you know about me, now what about you?’’ Sherlock shrugs.

‘’I’m not that interesting.’’ John scoffs and Sherlock gives a faint smile. ‘’What do you want to know?’’

‘’Mike told me that your ‘protect London streets’ what did he mean by that?’’

‘’I work as a consulting detective, only one in the world. When Scotland Yard is out of their depth, they call me.’’ Sherlock rolls his eyes, ‘’I’m hardly a protector of London.’’

"But you solve crimes, yeah?’Like murders?"

‘’Murders, kidnappings, thief’s but mostly murders, yes.’’

John is staring wide eyed at Sherlock. ‘’Wow, right- - OK.’’

Sherlock doesn't take any notice of John's shock. ‘’Anything else?’’

'’How long have you known Mike?’’

‘’Longer than you. Next question.’’

‘’Why are you so interested in me?’’ John jumps right to the question he has been burning to ask.

"You’re interesting. I’ve visited Mike and the zoo before but then I was called out of London for a case, when I came back to see Mike I saw you with the elephants. I knew I hadn’t seen you before but didn’t think any of it until I saw you on the hill sitting on the bench. On closer inspection I saw that you had worked here for three years and the reason I hadn’t seen you was because your promotion meant you had the opportunity to work with other smaller animals and your timetable had changed, as I mentioned yesterday. This meant you worked longer hours thus giving me a chance to see you.’’

‘’That really doesn’t answer my question.’’

‘’What would you like me to say?’’

John shrugs. He doesn’t know what he wants Sherlock to say. ‘’Tea?’’

‘’Pardon?’’

‘’Would you like some tea?’’ John asks slowly, nodding his head towards the café below. ‘’It’s not fantastic and frankly a little overpriced but I’ve been dying for a cup all afternoon.’’

Sherlock looks at John then stands up. ‘’I think that’s the most British thing I’ve heard all day.’’

John smiles and stands up, scrunching the crisp packet in his hand. ‘’What can I say? I am incredibly British.’’

Sherlock draws his lips in, containing a smile and him and John walk down to the café.

* * *

 

John orders while Sherlock goes to find a table. It’s quiet as most people have already had their lunch. John grabs a tray, dumping napkins, cutlery, cups, sugar, milk, the pot of tea and the plate of chips on it and walks towards where Sherlock is sitting. The table is at the far end of the cafe and a big window sits beside it. The late afternoon sun shines and makes John squint slightly as he puts the tray down. There’s barely enough room for it on the small table.

‘’Tea?’’ He asks, sitting down opposite Sherlock.

‘’Please.’’ John pours out two cups, places one in front of Sherlock and gestures towards the milk pots and sugar packets. ‘’I didn’t know how much milk or sugar you like so help yourself.’’

‘’Thank you.’’ Sherlock rips open one packet and adds the sugar. ‘’You didn’t have to pay for this.’’

‘’You ‘bought’ lunch so it’s only fair,’’ John says. He watches as Sherlock tries to open a milk pot, his nails not long enough to grip the plastic film. He smirks and holds out his hand. ‘’Here,’’ He says and opens it for him.

Sherlock gives a weak cough and mumbles a ‘thank you’ before depositing half the contents of the pot into the tea and stirring. The tip of his nose is blushed pink and John just finds himself smiling even harder.

Sherlock looks up from his tea that he had just been staring intently into and rolls his eyes. ‘’Stop that.’'

'’What?’’ John asks.

‘’That.’’ Sherlock gestures at John’s face with his spoon. ''Stop smiling.’’

'’How is it that you know I studied at Bart’s and my parents disapprove of my decision to back out of going to Afghanistan with one look and yet you can’t open a milk pot?’’

‘’Knowing something and being able to do something are completely different things.’’ Sherlock frowns and the bottom of his lip sticks out in a pout. John is practically doubled over from laughter.

‘’I blame your hands, they’re like tree stumps.’’

‘’Noticed my hands then?’’ It’s Sherlock’s turn to smirk as John sits up straight from the shock of what he has just said and runs a hand through his hair.

''Hard not to, look at the size of them.’’

‘’At least I can carry more than one thing,’’ Sherlock replies. 

'’At least I can grip my tea cup properly,’’ John shoots right back and they both smirk at one another.

John lets out a sigh and relaxes back in his chair. ‘’This is nice,’’ He announces, sipping his tea and it is nice. Not just the tea but sharing the company of someone else, sharing Sherlock’s company. He hasn’t laughed this long in ages and it’s good to finally get to sit down and talk to him properly. 

'’It is,’’ Sherlock agrees and relaxes in his chair as well.

After a beat of silence, Sherlock looks at John, ‘’So we talked about me, now it’s your turn.’’

John puts his cup down. ‘’You already know everything about me. There’s nothing more to tell.’’ He takes a handful of chips.

Sherlock lifts up an eyebrow and John sighs ‘’What do you want to know?’’

'’Why did you back out of being an army doctor?’’

‘’Not really my scene,’’ John says but when Sherlock does not respond he continues, ‘’Alright, it was my scene. Everything was there, the excitement, the rush of adrenaline and for a while, it was something I wanted to do.’’ 

'’But..."

‘’But, it was also something my parents wanted me to do. I realised I didn’t want to have to keep living by what my parents wanted From me so I backed out.’’

"So you decided to become a zookeeper instead?’’

‘’You may think it’s stupid but it was something I had wanted to do since I was small. ‘’

‘’I don’t think it’s stupid.’’

John crosses his arms over his chest, acting as if he’s far more interested at the tea pot than looking at Sherlock.

"Well you’d be the first. My officer didn’t approve, my parents were severely disapproved and Harry wasn’t bothered.’’

‘’Too far into the drink by then.’’

John’s eyes move upwards, his shoulders tensing. ‘’How did you know about?’’ His voice is small but the words spit out angrily as if Sherlock had brought up something that John wanted buried.

‘’Every good family has an alcoholic don’t they?’’

It was meant to be lighthearted but John is still tense and Sherlock leans forward in his seat, palms pressed together. ‘’Your Phone. It’s expensive but on your wages you wouldn’t be able to afford it, so it’s a gift. The engraving on the back, Harry Watson: a family member who's given you his old phone. Not your father and it's unlikely you have extended family, so not your cousin. Your brother then.

Clara, who's Clara? Obviously your brother's girlfriend -- wife. Why would your brother give away a phone his wife gave him? If she had left him, he would have kept it. But he left her. He gave his phone to you: wants you to stay in touch with him. But you haven't. You two have problems then. The main problem: his drinking."

"But how-"

"The phone's power connection. Marks and scuffs around the edge of it. His hands would shake from the drink and when he plugged it into charge, he would scratch it. You don't see a sober man's phone with those marks and you don't see a drunks without." Sherlock stops and watches John intently.

John, unsurprisingly overwhelmed with the outburst of Sherlock’s deductions, opens his mouth but closes it again.

Sherlock is certain of what’s to come next. The shouting, the word ‘freak’ thrown at him like it usually was and John getting up and walking away.

‘’That…was amazing.’’

Sherlock blinks and looks back at John, his eyebrows coming together and he looks at him as if trying to catch him in a lie.

‘’You think so?’’

‘’It was extraordinary; it was quite extraordinary!" John exclaims, staring with a profound wonder at Sherlock.

Sherlock’s face returns to neutral and when John turns to look out the window again, allows the smallest smile to sneak across his lips.

They don't continue to talk, only taking the occasional sip of their tea, John finishing off the last of the chips and letting the minutes tick by, neither one of them wishing to move.

Eventually, John looks up at the big clock hanging on the wall. It’s one PM and John is late for his shift.

'’Shit,’’ He says, causing a family of four who have just sat down to glare at him.

‘’Problem?’’

‘’I’m meant to be working. I’ve taken a two hour break!’’ John hisses and stands up, jolting the table. ‘’I’ve got to go- - I have to-‘’

‘’John.’’ Sherlock’s voice cuts through the panic and John looks down at the man who still has the same neutral face as before.

'’What?’’ John is still on edge and he breathes and breathes, and is ready to walk away until Sherlock stands up and puts on his coat.

He walks a few feet away and turns back to John.

‘’You don’t want to be more late do you?’’ Sherlock asks and John shakes his head, in both answering the question and in confusion and he swigs the last of his tea and jogs to Sherlock’s side.

They walk to the zoo’s main office and Sarah finds both of them there.

'’Ah John. I wondered where you had disappeared to,’’ She says and John swallows, just about ready for one of Sarah’s rare but terrifying shouts.

‘’Listen, Sarah, I—‘’

''-Would like to introduce you to one of the sponsors of the zoo, I think is what you’re trying to say isn’t it, John?’’ Sherlock holds out his hand for Sarah to shake. ‘’Sherlock Holmes, one of ZRC’s sponsors. John was just showing me around.’’

Sarah looks at John, Sherlock and Sherlock’s hand in bewilderment then shakes his hand. ‘’Oh, right. Hello. John didn’t tell me one of our sponsors were visiting.’’ 

'’He didn’t know himself. I was passing by and thought I would see John and the zoo," Sherlock says and places his hand back by his side.

‘’You two are friends then?’’ Sarah asks and smiles at the pair of them.

Sherlock nods and John isn’t quite sure what to do or think.

‘’I apologise about causing any inconvenience but I stopped by to see John and asked him to lunch and for a tour of the zoo which I’m afraid took longer than expected, which is why he is late for his shift.’’

Sarah shakes her head and turns to John. ‘’That’s perfectly fine. John, you should have come found me, I would have taken over.’’

John looks helplessly at Sherlock and only manages a feeble ‘sorry' as an answer.

‘’Well I hope John has been a good tour guide for you...Mr Holmes was it? Yes, well if there is anything you wish to discuss further, Mr Holmes, then feel free to call.’’ Sarah grabs a business card from the office table and hands it to him, ‘’Or come and visit.’’

Sherlock takes the business card and without even looking at it, puts it in his coat pocket.

‘’Thank you…Miss?’’

‘’Sarah Sawyer." 

'’Thank you, Miss Sawyer."

‘’John, once you’re done talking come and find me, OK?’’ Sarah says and walks off leaving John and Sherlock standing in the doorway of the office.

John blinks and after a moment’s pause says, ‘’You’re not a sponsor.’’

‘’No,’’ Sherlock says and starts to walk away from John but John’s hand reaches out to grab Sherlock’s shoulder and pulls him back.

‘’Why did you say that to her?’’

'’It’s bad taste to date your boss isn’t it?’’

John’s grip on Sherlock’s arm tightens.

‘’How the hell did you know that?’’

Sherlock rolls his eyes, ‘’You know what I do. I look, I observe. You’ve seen me do it on more than one occasion.’’ 

'’Yes, yes, alright,’’ John huffs and let’s go of Sherlock. 

"Well, you ‘owe me one’ as they say.’’

‘’How’d you figure that one out?" John asks.

‘’I saved you from getting in trouble.''

‘’I suppose you did save me from getting a bollocking off Sarah.’’

Sherlock smiles at John and nods. ‘’Good. Saturday night then?’’

‘’Pardon?’’

‘’You don’t have any plans this weekend unless you plan on having another date with your boss, so you can owe me one Saturday.’’

John’s eyes lower and squint in. ‘’What exactly are you thinking of?’’  

‘’Dinner. I know a nice little place. The man owes me a favour as I helped him get off a murder trial.’’

‘’Does everyone owe you?’’ 

"Yes.’’

John laughs.

'’You’re very determined to get me to have dinner with you.’’

‘’You’re very determined to always say no.’’

John thinks for a moment then shakes his head. ‘’You're mad but alright, dinner on Saturday.’’

'’Perfect. I’ll come meet you after work.'' Without needing a response from John, Sherlock turns on his heel and walks away.

John watches after him and smiles, something he finds himself doing an awful lot around him. He should go look for Sarah but instead he let’s his eyes watch Sherlock until he can no longer see him.

**Author's Note:**

> Glossary of terms/names used:  
> Safi (pronounced SA-FEE) means pure; sincere friend  
> Khari (pronounced KAAR-iy- ) means kingly  
> Myah (pronounced MY-AH) means beloved or great  
> Hoof knife- a tool used in the care of horses’ hooves. Also used when caring for other animals e.g. elephants  
> Hoof rasp- A coarse file with sharp, pointed projections. It is used to shape the hoof and remove debris from the bottom of the hoof/animals foot.  
> Husbandry- Caring, breeding and cultivation of animals and crops. So checking and caring for elephants feet is a husbandry practice. 
> 
> More tags to be added as the fic progresses.  
> This will be updated every three to four weeks due to college work.


End file.
